Rating: 
Summary: Well-researched picture of the man & the island.
Review: My, my! I don't think this book deserves the previous scathing attacks ... Ms.Souhami has done us all a favour in this charming book, both Selkirk and the island are the subjects of inquiry. Through diligent research and hands-on experience of the actual island, she conjures up a vision of Crusoe's home which is not too different from the almost idyllic place that Defoe described.With beautiful, almost poetic prose, the island, its topography, streams, flora, fauna and appearance are described with graphic imagery, taking one THERE in one's mind. The explorers (mostly privateers) who used the island as a base are also described in great detail, particularly Dampier, with whom Selkirk sailed. Salutary tales of others marooned, barely surviving, precede a description of Selkirk's own marooning, requested in a fit of pique and immediately regretted.
We see how he lived, not too uncomfortably, thanks to his family trade and experience as a seaman, but there are some lurid tales of bestiality - be warned. We then read, in a protracted sequence, how he is rescued and arrives back in England in glory, then descends into obcurity. His story is taken up and embellished by Daniel Defoe ... The rest is history. Ms.Souhami visits the island and sees for herself where and how Selkirk might have lived and, as a tail-piece, recounts how conservation authorities are trying to restore the island to its pre-Selkirk condition. ****.
Rating: 
Summary: fairly good story, poor writing
Review: Others have said this book would be for any audience, but beware! Her description of Selkirk's amorous relations with goats is quite distasteful (and the author phrases this fact in the most vulgar way possible, with the f word). You will never look at goats in the same way again.
The story in the book is quite interesting, but the writing could use some work. Maybe it's the use of commas after the subjects that bothered me (such as The author of this book, is named Diana).
Anyway, I'd choose to read the Defoe book again rather than this one.
Rating:
Summary: fairly good story, poor writing
Review: The author describes the history of Selkirk's life, including being marooned on an uninhabited island
for four years and four months. Selkirk's contemporary Daniel Defoe made his story into the famous novel Robinson Crusoe. To round out her historical research, the author apparently took a brief trip to the
island itself, now part of Chile. I was disappointed with the author's consistently negative attitude. I can well
believe that Selkirk was an anti-social and violent man, and that the pirates he sailed with were greedy and cruel.
But I at least hoped that the author would have a few positive things to say about the island that allowed Selkirk to live and thrive for so long. But no, even her description of the island as it is today dwells on the way the few inhabitants are despoiling the place. Only the book's few grainy B & W photographs hint at the fantastic
beauty of the island. Too bad the author apparently didn't enjoy the place.
Rating: 
Summary: depressingly negative
Review: The author describes the history of Selkirk's life, including being marooned on an uninhabited island
for four years and four months. Selkirk's contemporary Daniel Defoe made his story into the famous novel Robinson Crusoe. To round out her historical research, the author apparently took a brief trip to the
island itself, now part of Chile. I was disappointed with the author's consistently negative attitude. I can well
believe that Selkirk was an anti-social and violent man, and that the pirates he sailed with were greedy and cruel.
But I at least hoped that the author would have a few positive things to say about the island that allowed Selkirk to live and thrive for so long. But no, even her description of the island as it is today dwells on the way the few inhabitants are despoiling the place. Only the book's few grainy B & W photographs hint at the fantastic
beauty of the island. Too bad the author apparently didn't enjoy the place.
Rating:
Summary: The more things change...
Review: There seems to be the impression that the rush to publish multiple books after a well publicized disaster/achievement/incident is something unique to our time. This desire to cash in has in fact always been with us! This is one of the things that struck me the most as I read this very interesting book. In Selkirk's time when he returned from his 4 year 4 month marooning on an island in the South Pacific off of Chile this is exactly what happened. 3 different people, with varying connections (some rather remote) to Selkirk, raced to publish an account of his extraordinary experience. The veracity of the books varied, and I was amused to read how the authors responded to the pressure of their publishers to emphasize the information about Selkirk on the book's title page, which I get the impression was in those days the blurbs or jacket description to tempt readers into buying. After these 3 books were published Daniel Defoe was inspired to write _Robinson Crusoe_. I enjoyed _Selkirk's Island_ and think Souhami did a great job piecing together a story based on scant bits and pieces from a variety of sources. She really helps you get a sense of the intense rivalry among England, France, and Spain to dominate the high seas and the ongoing efforts of pirates and privateers to plunder rich galleons. The sailors endured awful hardship and disease. I was also fascinated to find that after the success of _Robinson Crusoe_ Defoe wrote 2 sequels (yes, they even had sequels in those days!) that have been completely forgotten. I was disappointed, though, with some of the things missing from this book. First, while she emphasized how these authors wrote their accounts of Selkirk's adventure expressly for the money, aside from Defoe's book she never discussed how well the books sold, and whether in fact the authors became wealthy from them. Selkirk is portrayed as being very money-oriented, yet I am surprised why he did not seek to make money from his tale when he saw others doing so. The book is silent on this question. Detailed maps would have helped a great deal in following the action more closely. I also agree with some of the other reviewers' feelings that Souhami's prose is often pretentious and the book could've used tighter editing. There's also the grievous error of indicating a ship near the Baja peninsular sailing *east* to Guam. All in all, though, a very enjoyable and recommended read! I am also looking forward to a book being released on May 28, 2002, _In Search of Robinson Crusoe_ by Tim Severin. Severin argues that Selkirk was only a small part of Defoe's inspiration for _Robinson Crusoe_.
Rating:
Summary: The more things change...
Review: There seems to be the impression that the rush to publish multiple books after a well publicized disaster/achievement/incident is something unique to our time. This desire to cash in has in fact always been with us! This is one of the things that struck me the most as I read this very interesting book. In Selkirk's time when he returned from his 4 year 4 month marooning on an island in the South Pacific off of Chile this is exactly what happened. 3 different people, with varying connections (some rather remote) to Selkirk, raced to publish an account of his extraordinary experience. The veracity of the books varied, and I was amused to read how the authors responded to the pressure of their publishers to emphasize the information about Selkirk on the book's title page, which I get the impression was in those days the blurbs or jacket description to tempt readers into buying. After these 3 books were published Daniel Defoe was inspired to write _Robinson Crusoe_. I enjoyed _Selkirk's Island_ and think Souhami did a great job piecing together a story based on scant bits and pieces from a variety of sources. She really helps you get a sense of the intense rivalry among England, France, and Spain to dominate the high seas and the ongoing efforts of pirates and privateers to plunder rich galleons. The sailors endured awful hardship and disease. I was also fascinated to find that after the success of _Robinson Crusoe_ Defoe wrote 2 sequels (yes, they even had sequels in those days!) that have been completely forgotten. I was disappointed, though, with some of the things missing from this book. First, while she emphasized how these authors wrote their accounts of Selkirk's adventure expressly for the money, aside from Defoe's book she never discussed how well the books sold, and whether in fact the authors became wealthy from them. Selkirk is portrayed as being very money-oriented, yet I am surprised why he did not seek to make money from his tale when he saw others doing so. The book is silent on this question. Detailed maps would have helped a great deal in following the action more closely. I also agree with some of the other reviewers' feelings that Souhami's prose is often pretentious and the book could've used tighter editing. There's also the grievous error of indicating a ship near the Baja peninsular sailing *east* to Guam. All in all, though, a very enjoyable and recommended read! I am also looking forward to a book being released on May 28, 2002, _In Search of Robinson Crusoe_ by Tim Severin. Severin argues that Selkirk was only a small part of Defoe's inspiration for _Robinson Crusoe_.
Rating:
Summary: Cast away this turkey about the Original Castaway
Review: This book found its way on to my buy list because of an abiding interest in premodern exploration narratives of seagoing and overland travel, and I purchased it on the strength of a glowing review in Forbes and similar reviews on this site. Unfortunately, I have to agree with the one reviewer who rated it as a 1-star item. On a technical level, I find fault with: 1. the quality and preparation of the footnotes (they're not numbered, but marked by daggers, so if several appear on a page of text, you have to scan through all the endnotes for that page to figure out what item the note refers to); 2. the lack of a glossary (A British author can be forgiven, perhaps, for assuming Americans will get British terminology, but 17th century terminology needs definition for any modern reader); 3. the abysmal lack of useful location maps. Only crude renditions of the west coast of South America are provided, with NO decent map references for any of the ocean voyages covered in the text, and NO decent sketch or topographic map of the island on which Selkirk was marooned, much less locations of any of the sites he occupied as permanent habitation; 4. a rather confusing cavalcade of characters of sponsoring and competing economic interests, both within England and between England and Spain; 5. an apparent howler of an error of pp. 152-153 where the expedition is described as being at the southern tip of Baja California, and then electing to sail east to Guam; 6. the numerous instances of poorly-punctuated sentences which cause the reader to backtrack for clarification. The author does a creditable job, at the end, of showing how the travails of Selkirk, a man devoid of insight, were adapted by contemporary adventure writers to teach moral lessons about the natural virtue and Christian standing of Man in a primitive environment, but the narrative portion of the book is frankly tedious and unrewarding. This is the kind of book where you pat yourself on the back for providing a community service by donating your once-read copy to the local library, and secretly revel in the fact that it won't be taking up valuable shelf space in your home library.
Rating:
Summary: Very lacking
Review: This could have been an excellent book. The author extensively researched the relevant personalities to the story (e.g. Selkirk and the rest of the crew). However, she merely repeats what facts she has found. She provides no analysis and puts nothing in perspective. For example, it appears obvious that a lot of men were seeking their fortunes at sea, but why - what were the conditions like at home? She notes that the conditions on Selkirk's ship is dismal, but what was it like on other ships? Perhaps Selkirk's ship was quite the norm. She makes no mention of the society in England - what period in time are we discussing? E.g. she writes the dates in the margin of her text. Is the reader supposed to understand what was happening during that time around the world. On a smaller scale, but related, the author makes all kinds of comments such as this, "by 17xx the war with the Spanish had ended." (Selkirk was afraid of being captured by the Spanish.) Couldn't the author have told us why the war ended, who won, what were the conditions, etc. Nope. Simply, the war had ended. Finally, the book is over 220 pages, but less than 40 pages are devoted to Selkirk's stay on the island. So many basic things that the author could have researched and given us information on are omitted. For example, the detail given regarding the island's climate doesn't get much better than "the climate was moderate". Well, I don't need to know the month by month breakdown, but "moderate" means something different to somebody from Canada than it does to somebody from Mexico. Couldn't she have stated, "70 degrees on average in the summer". What about the water temperature - was it ice cold? Was this Gilligan's island or was it Antarctica? I still don't know... I usually love these kinds of books and seek them out. I was all excited when I got this, and offered to loan it to a couple friends when I was done. Not now - I won't waste their time.
Rating:
Summary: Very lacking
Review: This could have been an excellent book. The author extensively researched the relevant personalities to the story (e.g. Selkirk and the rest of the crew). However, she merely repeats what facts she has found. She provides no analysis and puts nothing in perspective. For example, it appears obvious that a lot of men were seeking their fortunes at sea, but why - what were the conditions like at home? She notes that the conditions on Selkirk's ship is dismal, but what was it like on other ships? Perhaps Selkirk's ship was quite the norm. She makes no mention of the society in England - what period in time are we discussing? E.g. she writes the dates in the margin of her text. Is the reader supposed to understand what was happening during that time around the world. On a smaller scale, but related, the author makes all kinds of comments such as this, "by 17xx the war with the Spanish had ended." (Selkirk was afraid of being captured by the Spanish.) Couldn't the author have told us why the war ended, who won, what were the conditions, etc. Nope. Simply, the war had ended. Finally, the book is over 220 pages, but less than 40 pages are devoted to Selkirk's stay on the island. So many basic things that the author could have researched and given us information on are omitted. For example, the detail given regarding the island's climate doesn't get much better than "the climate was moderate". Well, I don't need to know the month by month breakdown, but "moderate" means something different to somebody from Canada than it does to somebody from Mexico. Couldn't she have stated, "70 degrees on average in the summer". What about the water temperature - was it ice cold? Was this Gilligan's island or was it Antarctica? I still don't know... I usually love these kinds of books and seek them out. I was all excited when I got this, and offered to loan it to a couple friends when I was done. Not now - I won't waste their time.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Robinson Crusoe
Review: Two subjects have fascinated people through the ages. 1) the weather and 2) being stranded on a desert island. We are inexhaustibly interested, and Daniel Defoe struck gold by implementing #2. In this well researched book, the author tells us about Andrew Selkirk, the prototype of Robinson Crusoe, and his life before, during and after his four and one-half year incarceration on the Isle of Juan Fernandez (now renamed Robinson Crusoe Island.) The island lays 340 miles off the Chilean coast, far in the southern hemisphere. Fortunately for Andrew, it was a hospitable place, with fresh water, many goats and seals, and a temperate climate. Andrew Selkirk came from a poor Scottish family and went to sea as a young lad. Two traits were life-long with him: a violent temper and a propensity to walk away from difficulties. Unfortunately, he did not keep a diary or journal, so our only direct information about him comes from others. He was a good seaman, quiet to the point of being dour, and was careless with money. He displayed remarkable self-sufficiency and physical hardiness when marooned on The Island. The author's research into conditions aboard a ship in the early 18th century is extensive and well done. To this reader, it seems that no clergyman had to explain hell to a sailor; one seafaring expedition was an ample description. The provisions were rotten and scanty, the ships were cramped and barely seaworthy, scurvy and all manner of disease decimated the crews, and the work was backbreaking. To the sailors of the day, the worst punishment was being marooned. I find this hard to believe; I can't think of anything worse than being confined to one of those ships for 18 months at a time. In fact, Selkirk begged, pleaded and tried to force his way back aboard ship when left on The Island. Ms. Souhami quotes many contemporaries of Selkirk and weaves brilliant character studies of contemporaneous notables: a piratical rogue of a captain who couldn't navigate his way out of a paper bag deserves a book of his own. There was more of the ecology of the island and environmental concerns than I thought necessary. I felt the book was weakest when the author assigned thoughts and feelings to Andrew during his time on the island. As he left no writings, it is all conjecture, and I don't think Selkirk was an introspective man. He probably thought more about where his next meal was coming from rather than contemplating the cosmos. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers: travel, adventure, history and personalities. Highly readable.
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